Slideshow: Cleaning up Koh Phi Phi Don

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Koh Phi Phi. Time has truly flown and it’s amazing how busy one can be in “paradise.” ;) Here I thought I was going to have all this time to read and relax.. NOT! Haven’t even opened my book yet! People are working HARD here, and it’s fantastic.

I’ve been doing the Phi Phi “Dive Camp” – diving for a few days at a time, 3 dives a day. It has been very interesting, and I’ve actually learned a lot about underwater navigation! This is not your typical “fun dive” in beautiful clear water with lots of colorful fishies everywhere. I actually haven’t gone on one of those yet. This is TRASH diving. We jump from the town pier into water that also acts as the island’s sewage disposal system. We swim out among ferries and long-tail boats, taking big nets with us. When we descend (averaging only about 30 feet down), we stretch out the nets on the sea floor and commence to swim around looking for garbage. It doesn’t take long for loads of sand to get kicked up and the water to get very murky. At times you can only see a foot or so in front of your face, but that’s only when it’s really bad. Typically it just reminds me of diving out in Edmonds dive park. ;)

When the nets are full, we tie them up and put “lift bags” on them. These are basically big plastic bags that we fill with air and act as super-bubbles…  they float the garbage to the surface. Longtail boats drag the filled nets to shore and snorkelers empty them out into a giant pile of garbage on the shore. We are still waiting for the Thai government to come with a garbage boat to take it all off the island, but that hasn’t happened yet (well, it did a long time ago, once, I think) and there is no idea on when it will. For now they are burning anything wooden and the rest just sits in a giant stinkpile waiting for a boat.

On the way out for a dive

Lift bags - just under the surface is a big, full, net of rubbish

The dive crew seems to attract quite a bit of attention, because we are going down where no one has looked yet. Certain areas are still relatively untouched after the tsunami, and we are finding every imaginable object. We’ve had at least 3 TV crews out here filming since I’ve been here. The most popular question is: “What do you find down there?” Well, to answer the unasked underlying question there, I haven’t actually found any human remains yet. There have only been 2 that have been found in the last couple of months, so it’s extremely rare. (Though, as a side note, I should comment that today I had a scare – I thought I saw the bones of a hand sticking out of the sand. My stomach sank and I swallowed hard as I started to move the sand off of it. Luckily it was only a stick. Odd feeling though.) I keep thinking I might find something; it’s a possibility and I need to prepare myself for it just in case. Anyway, back to the original question of what typical items are… well, among other things, a whole 7-11 washed into the ocean so there are a lot of coke cans, liquor bottles (some of which are still good and therefore a very popular find). ;) Oddly, lots of CDs & DVDs (probably from street vendors), some of which still work, books which are falling apart, pamphlets, signs, mannequins from shops, even a bikini STILL ON THE HANGER! Both the top and bottom! Unbelievable. I’ve also found some flowers (fake obviously), but it was odd to go along the sandy sea bottom and pick up a rose. Toys are fairly heartbreaking, as are Christmas presents (remember it happened the day after xmas). Shoes, masks/snorkels/fins, lots of clothing, metal roofing, large boards, palm trees (these can damage the reef and there are lots of them down there), etc. etc. Some of it is nearly impossible to take out now as it’s completely covered in sand, which when wet and underwater can be very heavy.

This pile of rubbish all came from the sea

Some of the things we find can be resold

Wildlife? Well, sometimes you see some cute little nemo fishies swimming in a glorious anemone, perched atop a blanket from someone’s bed that became the anemone’s home. (Nemo is very curious, btw). But usually we find lionfish, angry crab (as we tend to take away their hiding place), etc. There are some bright fish that swim by now and then. But we have to be very careful about the lionfish! Today when I came out of the water I had a huge sea cucumber that had somehow hitched a ride on my BCD. It was hilariously disgusting. When they get stressed out, they basically vomit their intestines to make fish think they are dead (this seems like the most ridiculous defense mechanism EVER). So when I got out of the water, I had a slimy, pulsing goo that people were seeing on my backside and they started yelling and pointing and going “ewwww! grosssss!!! accckkk!!” as someone ran up to me and started beating me with a stick.  And I had NO idea what the heck was going on! Not a good feeling to have everyone screaming and pointing at you with not a clue as to why! ;)

Style points for water entry

Underwater, I take a stick with me and poke everything before lifting anything, just to make sure there are no sting rays, stone fish, or crab around. And I look very carefully at all times at a site before starting to work on it, looking for lionfish – they are very placid and not agressive at all, but they also tend to hang out and not move even with everyone moving around, so it’s important to be aware if there’s one near the net! These fish get your nervous system if they sting you. It can be really bad.

Andrew (the man responsible for the Dive Camp), me, and Karin

Anyway, let’s see, what else has been going on… I’ve settled into a kind of routine – it’s actually a healthier routine than the one I had when working at home! I wake up around 7:30am, by 8:30am I’m at the dive shop and getting all geared up. In the water by 9 or 9:30, do two dives, out around noon for lunch (provided to the volunteers free), then back in the water for one last afternoon dive. Walk back to the dive shop through town, dripping wet with dive gear still on and lots of people watching, return borrowed gear to shop, go home, shower, tend to small scratches (infection is rampant on the island so I’m treating every minor nick and scratch like a high risk wound – this is working very well actually). Go to a thai lesson for an hour (skipping that today to write this mail) ;) then dinner (you get a 60 baht coupon for dinner, like $1.50, for every day that you dive – you pay the difference), a drink, and bed by 11pm. Do it all over again the next day…. for variety, I’ll take an afternoon off and go rock climbing. I’ve gone several times already and it’s VERY fun here. I love the rock in the south of thailand. Luckily there are a few other climbers here so I haven’t had any trouble getting people to go with me. I think I’ll go tomorrow actually… ;)

People (volunteers) typically only take one day off a week. Friday. I’ve taken a couple more here and there just to let myself dry out. I don’t want to get an ear infection or something from being permanently wet. Plus it’s nice to get some sun now and then. I’m not all that tan as I’m always in a full rash suit. Just now starting to get a little more tan. :) Anyway, it’s interesting because you actually feel guilty for taking time off, because EVERYONE on the island is toiling away! It’s an amazing environment. It’s unfortunate that it takes a disaster to bring people together like this. We saw it in NYC after 9/11, and we’re seeing it here too. It’s amazing. Thai and farang (foreigners) are working together and interacting like they never did before. It’s really, really cool. :) The people are amazing and it really does seem like paradise, even with the rubble everywhere.

Girl toiling away in the heat

I’ve been eating really well. I rarely have breakfast, but if I do, you can get either a nice big “western” breakfast or go to the local “western” bakery and get some nice pastries. For lunch, we get rice and these little single-serving size bags with curries or vegetable mixes to put on the rice. At some point a short little old lady comes by with baskets of fruit. She is VERY popular among the volunteers and probably makes a killing! :) I like to eat pineapple after lunch. Sometimes I’ll get a banana-mango shake instead before heading back to the water. mmmm.  Dinner – quite a variety here actually. Either thai or italian. It’s nice to have the Italian there for those days when you crave home food. There are also food stands around that serve sandwiches (like burgers sort of) and thai pancakes (very good, but sweet). So I think I’ve lost some weight as the food is very healthy and I’m exercising quite a bit. That’s nice – it feels really good to be moving around! :D

Lunch consists of bags of curry and a big pot of rice

My friend Jaime from home is coming in a few days! I’m very excited to see her. She is also traveling the world and is, oh, about 8 months in I think? (not sure). It will be really fun to have someone here from home. :) We may go to Krabi (a 1.5 hour ferry ride) and head to Ton Sai for some climbing.

In the beginning of June I need to head down to Malaysia really quick for what’s popularly known as a “visa run.” You jump down to the border and come right back to get a new 30-day visa stamp in your passport. I can’t remember if I mentioned in my earlier mail but I think they made a mistake in the airport and I’m stamped through June 8 2015 instead of 2005! haha! However I’ve been told they register everyone in a computer so they’d know I overstayed even if my stamp says otherwise. I’d rathe not risk it – will play by the rules. :)

Other than that not much else new really. Look at the pictures, that explains a lot more than I ever could. :) They took forever to upload so please do check them out! ;) This set is all about the island and how completely destructed it is. It’s a complete mess. And supposedly it’s a LOT better than it was. I’ve met a few people who survived the tsunami and they are very interesting to talk to. One was scuba diving when it happened. He said there was just a really strong current suddenly. Apparently it was one of the safer places to be, because the wave hadn’t broken and was barely noticeable except for the current.

Devastation

A room left untouched since the tsunami